The company has begun leasing OpenView through a rent-to-own program HP developed for ASPs, and says it will own the software after the two- year contract is up. "We followed the ASPs' business model and created something similar for them," says Maureen Melon, one of HP's E-services managers for OpenView. The ASP has also standardized on HP's NetServer LPr line of Intel-based Windows NT servers, and it will use HP's channel to sell its services. In addition, ebaseOne has forged equipment pacts with Cisco Systems and Sun Microsystems.

Those deals came into play when PaperChaser.com Inc. decided to use ebaseOne's services, starting in the first quarter. The ASP will host and maintain SalesLogix Corp.'s sales-force automation software for PaperChaser.com, a Web site where litigation attorneys can access and manage legal documents.

PaperChaser.com's confidence in ebaseOne stems in part from the ASP's partnerships. "Having partners like HP, Sun, and Cisco gave me the confidence that ebaseOne would be a good provider for us," says Brad Jenkins, VP of sales and marketing for PaperChaser.com.

HP will provide technical support and help with the technical design of ebaseOne's hosting systems, says Scott Feulesse, VP of technical operations for ebaseOne.